Agents find $1.7 million of cocaine, heroin in Naperville man's apartment
DuPage County law enforcement authorities conducting an ongoing investigation into the sale of illegal drugs say they found cocaine and heroin worth an estimated $1.7 million in the apartment of a Naperville man.
Sergio Vergara-Cardenas, 29, of the 2800 block of Michigan Avenue in Naperville, has been charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, authorities said Thursday. If convicted, Vergara-Cardenas could face between 15 and 60 years in prison.
When agents who were tracking Vergara-Cardenas as part of the ongoing investigation pulled him over Wednesday, they found him trying to put bundles of money from a shoe box into the back of the passenger's seat next to him. Authorities said they recovered about $250,000 from his vehicle before finding 17 kilos of cocaine and one kilo of heroin in his apartment.
The street value of the drugs is estimated to be $1.7 million, and that's the same amount Judge Richard Russo set Thursday as Vergara-Cardenas' bail.
Vergara-Cardenas would have to pay the full $1.7 million to get out of jail before his next scheduled court appearance March 2 in front of Judge Brian Telander. He also would be required to prove in a hearing that any money used for bail was not obtained from illegal activities.
Agents pulled over Vergara-Cardenas near his apartment on the northwest side of Naperville when they saw him fail to signal before making a right turn onto Route 59, authorities said.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a news release that Vergara-Cardenas' case "unfortunately confirms that drugs are still in our communities in significant amounts."
Berlin said law enforcement agencies are cooperating to "aggressively go after those individuals who attempt to enrich their lives at the expense of others."